December 11, 2002
The Bush Vision and the Culture of Power
by SAUL LANDAU
"Why do they hate us?" George W. Bush asked. I waited for his answer as did
millions of others after the 9/11 events. We had lost our collective
virginity when we had to acknowledge that some serious characters did not
have our best interests at heart. As Bush spoke I conjured up the image of
they with the help of the cartoonists who had provided me with stereotyped
fierce-looking Arabs, wielding curved swords, heads wrapped in kefiyahs and
screaming anti-American curses.
W went on to say that they hate Americans because we re free, referring, I
presumed, to the great institutions our founding fathers left us. He
implied that the mass murdering fanatics of Al Qaeda loved a non-free
system. So, to show them a thing or two, he advised us to fly somewhere for
vacation, like Disneyland, and shop; in other words, practicing the
American way of life would make us feel better and help the economy to
boot; imagine, going to Disneyland as a veritable act of patriotism.
And while he assured us of our safety, Attorney General Ashcroft and
Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge, periodically warned us about the
imminent threat of another terrorist assault. Well, one learns to live with
contradictions, but where, I ask myself, does George W. Bush intend to lead
us?
The head of a large empire needs a world vision, some sense that he knows
that his policies coincide with the future, a road map that takes us beyond
they hate us and we love freedom. President Bush s speeches, remarks at
infrequent press conferences and occasional off the cuff quips, however,
don t offer much clarity about how he sees the coincidence between his
policies and say, the future of the environment or the fate of the more
than half the world s desperately poor people, factors one must consider
when thinking about the future in any reasonable form.
I have observed, in the seemingly interminable period of time since the
Supreme Court elected him, some evolution in W s behavior. From a rather
crude and simplistic view of the world as Texas Governor, he has built on
his old prejudices and added a few new twists. In his new mutation as
imperial manager, for example, criminals have come to play a crucial role
in this Texas-Yale weltanschauung.
As Governor of Texas, George W. Bush didn t believe in rehabilitating
criminals. Indeed, those on death row didn t benefit from his compassionate
conservatism. In fact, as governor for five years he presided over 152
killings, more executions guilty or not -- than any other State leader.
Bush felt that sense of certitude we ve all seen it on his face on TV when
he sets his jaw in that pose of religious conviction -- that he seems to
carry on every subject of policy. In February 2001, he proclaimed his
confidence "that every person that has been put to death in Texas under my
watch has been guilty of the crime charged, and has had full access to the
courts."
As Anthony Lewis noted in the June 17, 2000 NY Times, however, in one-third
of those cases, the report showed, the lawyer who represented the death
penalty defendant at trial or on appeal had been or was later disbarred or
otherwise sanctioned. In 40 cases the lawyers presented no evidence at all
or only one witness at the sentencing phase of the trial. In almost thirty
other cases, prosecutors used psychiatric testimony based on experts who
had not bothered to even interview the people on trial for their lives.
Bush dismissed serious studies that raised doubts about the death penalty
even brushing aside reservations held by such staunch advocates of capital
punishment as the Taliban-like Pat Robertson, "We've adequately answered
innocence or guilt," Bush declared smugly to an Associated Press reporter.
He assured reporters that every defendant "had full access to a fair trial."
As with much of policy, Bush doesn t rely on facts especially when life and
death are involved. His instinct tells him that when dealing with
difficulty, whether on policy toward terrorism, Iraq or the death penalty,
think of a joke. In November 2002, CNN s Crossfire replayed a tape of a
reporter asking him about his priorities, the war against terrorism or the
war against Iraq. Bush responded: Er, uh, huh, I m trying to think of
something funny to say. When Tucker Carlson of Time magazine asked him how
he felt in putting a woman to death, he mimicked her plea to save her.
`Please Bush whimpers, wrote Carlson describing his demeanor as lips pursed
in mock desperation, `don t kill me.
As President, Bush has apparently reconsidered his stance on criminals,
well, certain kinds anyway. His new rehabilitation program calls for the
appointment to high policy posts of former felons who have links to mass
murder not just simple homicide. These lawbreaker are also characterized by
their utter contempt -- not only for the lives of Central Americans but for
the Congress and US Constitution as well.
Take as examples Elliot Abrams, John Poindexter, John Negroponte and Otto
Reich, officials he recently named to manage important policy positions. I
exclude the newly appointed Henry Kissinger to the Warren Commission on
9/11 because K showed contempt for human life on several continents and
belongs in the bigger league of war criminals.
For those too young to recall or those with short memories, the four above
mentioned characters conspired to circumvent congressional defunding of the
Contras, the group President Reagan had chosen in the early 1980s to depose
the government of Nicaragua. These four and their cohorts hatched a plot to
sell weapons to Iran (also prohibited) so that they could funnel the
proceeds to their beloved Contras ands then cover it up.
In his testimony to Congress, the scrappy Abrams made witness history when
he declared: "I never said I had no idea about most of the things you said
I had no idea about." The now 54 year old Abrams also explained in his
autobiography that he had to inform his young children about the headline
announcing his indictment, so he told them he had to lie to Congress to
protect the national interest.
The then Deputy Assistant Secretary of State to Central America pleaded
guilty to withholding information from Congress and received two years
probation and 100 hours community work. Now, the 54 year old Abrams as the
new White House man on the Middle East, having learned that one can get
away with felonious behavior if you maintain close links to the Bush
family, will attempt to redraw the roadmap of the Middle East. Secretary of
State Colin Powell drafted a plan for designing a peaceful solution and
eventually a Palestinian state. The vision, by deduction, amounts to a
rubber stamp for Israeli repression and expansion. It also coincides with
Abrams stated belief that Israel and the United States will benefit from
tighter connections between the far right fundamentalist Christians who
want Israel to prevail and occupy all of Palestine and US policy.
Former retired Admiral and National Security adviser to Reagan John
Poindexter was convicted of five felonies involving conspiracy, obstruction
of Congress, and making false statements. The judge gave him six months in
prison, but an appellate court reversed the sentence because Congress had
granted him immunity. His slipping out of prison on a procedural error does
not change the facts of the case. Poindexter s vision runs toward secrecy
and circumventing law in the interests of protecting the privacy of
individuals not affiliated with terrorism, his newest declaration.
Otto Reich ran Latin America policy until this month and now holds a
special appointment from the White House for Latin America. Negroponte, now
Ambassador to the UN, also played the Iran-Contra game and escaped
indictment. Reich was minister of lying to the public from his Office of
Public Diplomacy and Negroponte as US Ambassador to Honduras had to cover
up now he has forgotten the dreadful behavior of our allies. The liberals
called it human rights abuse, but Negroponte understood that you can t make
an omelet without breaking the eggs, or some such Maoism.
By appointing these characters, W s world view becomes clearer. Those who
participated in Central America plots that caused the deaths of tens of
thousands will have a second chance to show the public what they really
stand for. Indeed, they remain as role models for the post republican
United States. Congress has little place in such an imperial government.
The media, epitomized by Fox and Rupert Murdoch s chains, plays the
aggressive war game and diverts the public. The National Security Plan
released by the White House further shreds the republican fabric by placing
the Bill of Rights into very second class status in a search for full
spectral dominance, hardly one that relates to the nation or security for
that matter.
Similarly gone are past notions of accountability and openness when
Administrations felt it necessary to cover imperial expeditions with shreds
of republican fabric and maintain some semblance of the Bill of Rights.
Saul Landau teaches at Cal Poly Pomona University and is a fellow at the
Institute for Policy Studies. Landau's new film, IRAQ: VOICES FROM THE
STREETS is distributed by The Cinema Guild in New York City. Landau can be
reached at: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.counterpunch.org/
